Women's and Children's Hospital

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. What, if any, new advice is being provided to the state government regarding soil contamination on the new Women's and Children's Hospital site? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: In early 2021 following geotechnical and environmental testing by the project team, it was reported that no significant contamination had been found in the soil upon which the new Women's and Children's Hospital would be built. However, reports in The Advertiser on 3 June of this year list contaminated soil as one of the main factors contributing to the new cost blowout.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:56): Firstly, I would never dispute anything that had been reported in The Advertiser—let me make that very, very clear—but I am not sure that that is a definitive statement in terms of the issues that we are facing with the new Women's and Children's Hospital.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That's why I prefaced it.

Mr Cowdrey interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Colton!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Let's just go through the history in terms of where we are in terms of this project, because at the last 2018 election, the one prior to this one, there was a commitment from the then government to build a new Women's and Children's Hospital that would be open in 2024, so in just 1½ years' time the new hospital would be open.

Unfortunately, there is no work whatsoever underway on that hospital site. Down the track, they established a task force that was appointed and refused to release to the clinicians the task force report that had been prepared, but it subsequently came out by FOI that the price estimate at that point in time was $1.4 billion for the hospital, to build a new hospital.

Many more months, years went by. Eventually, it was outlined that the cost would be $1.95 billion, so quite a significant jump from $1.4 billion to $1.95 billion. It subsequently came out that that site would not involve any new adolescent or paediatric overnight beds at the hospital, in the $1.95 billion hospital.

Upon coming to government—this is clearly one of the major projects for the state—we immediately sought a briefing in terms of where is this project up to. What we were advised was that, before the election, in February, the executive steering committee had been informed of the project that there was another escalation in the price again of—

An honourable member: Kept that quiet!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That's right. It wasn't announced publicly before the election. There was no discussion of that publicly. It was going to be at least another $100 million in terms of the project, with no additional functions attached to that.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: As well, we were informed it escalated to be more blowouts in terms of the time frame for this project. Originally, it was going to be 2024 and then we were looking at 2025-26, then 2026-27, then 2027-28. It continues to push out in time for this project.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: It sounds like the giraffe enclosure.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is called to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Chaffey! The Treasurer is called to order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: If only as much time had been concentrated on this project as the giraffe enclosure and Crystal Lake, it might have been in a better state. Upon learning of this news, the government took a position, which was that we felt the responsible thing to do as an incoming government was to get a proper look at the state of this project.

We have appointed one of the foremost former public servants of this state, Mr Jim Hallion, former State Coordinator-General, to do a piece of work looking at the options in terms of this site, looking at where it's up to in terms of its cost, looking at issues in terms of whether another site in the precinct could be considered, a key factor being potential expansion for both the Women's and Children's Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. I think it's important we get that work so that we can make informed decisions about the next steps.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!